Demolition Ready and High Winds
April 10, 2025
We’ve been diligently tackling moving all our boxes and items next door to the newly built shed in our backyard. The first few bags of items moved were hurriedly prompted by our youngest, who had been patiently waiting to reunite with her favourite, long-lost stuffed animals of years past.
Relocating Belongings
Many of the adorable, stuffed creatures were bagged in large, clear plastic bags — easily spotted by Michiel as he trudged in and out of the house. Excitedly, and with large brisk steps, he hauled large bags of our belongings from the storage rooms to our shed, while daydreaming swinging his hammer — finally striking down the dingy, horrid, brown coloured walls in our soon-to-be dining room, creating cloud dusts of gypsum and broken debris.
The kids followed closely behind, eager to peak at the bags, hoping to find their long-lost treasures as well. Some items, however, had gone past expiration — namely, clothing items worn a few summers ago.
I am making a point of keeping a collection of clothing that held sentimental value to this mama’s heart — with these pieces of clothing, my intention was to make a quilt for each child, specially sewn with memories that intertwined each sentiment to each square.
We spent the first two evenings after supper time, as a family rummaging through bags and sorting items to keep; to donate; and to throw out.
The process, though tedious was actually surprisingly therapeutic. We had managed to sort through ten bags the first evening. However, we had only sorted through five bags the second evening — since we started the process later than we had wanted.
We had hoped to get to bed at a good hour, as we had found the previous few days’ house work to be more labour-intensive.
Strong Winds on the Coast
Wind is a force to be reckoned with — here, on the coast, the landscape opening to the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, lends to incredible gusts of wind overtaking the un-shielded homes — sometimes intensifying when spontaneous bursts of storms develop offshore.
Two nights ago, in my half-dazed sleep, I heard the clanging and banging of metal right outside the window. As I focused on the sound it was making, I didn’t realize that I had fallen back asleep.
The next morning, I went to our van to retrieve an item I had left behind the evening before, and came to the realization that a piece of lumber on our lawn had moved from its original spot.
As I proceeded to place it back where it belonged, I noticed a very large piece of equipment missing directly next to this piece of lumber.
A Disaster Missed
I was astonished to learn that our fifteen foot trampoline had lifted and sailed across the front lawn; missing the metal roof stacked neatly on the ground; missing the large concrete well ring next to the stack of metal roof; missing the large lilac bush a few feet from the well ring; and missing our cherished 1997 Volkswagen Eurovan next to the lilac bush.
In my amazement, the trampoline landed a mere half a foot from the back corner of the van! How the trampoline did not destroy anything in its wild rampage that gusty evening, was beyond me! We are so thankful there was no damage done. We had had the trampoline sitting where it sat for the last two years, through much stronger windstorms, and it did not move an inch!
Reminiscing our First Summer on the Coast
I’m reminded of where my kids are now compared to the first summer — when we had just moved to our first Nova Scotia property: our kids still enjoy having sleepovers as a family. The move from Ontario to Nova Scotia initiated an expectation and a habit — we had gotten used to cluster sleeping due to small space.
Our first three months moving to our first property depended on our family sharing big beds. The kids slept in the insulated bunkie on our pink IKEA pull out couch. Yes, once upon a time, all four kids slept on the couch that pulled out to be equivalent to the size of a double mattress. Our former, sweet and sly puppy, Miku would routinely weasel herself between the youngest two kids and push one off the couch.
While the four kids slept in the hard-shelled bunkie over wet, stormy nights, Michiel and I stayed in our soft-covered tent trailer. One very stormy evening, the wind blew so intensely at our tent, catching the canvas and pulling it to and fro, hitting the poles and causing our tent to shake like an earthquake — creating frighteningly loud booming noises.
At two o’clock in the morning, we both looked at each other and realized we hadn’t slept a wink. We hurriedly wedged our pillows under our arms, springing out of the shaking tent, straight into the bunkie — evicted our pup from her unauthorized sleeping location, and proceeded to climb onto the spread-out couch with our four kids laying fast asleep. Were we ever relieved to find refuge in a quiet and protected building that frightful evening!
We awoke to the news that a tropical storm had brushed by!
Master Bedroom Windows Installed
It seems that juggling multiple projects is an expertise of Michiel, for as long as I have known him. He had initiated building the back dormer where ours and Florence’s bedrooms are currently located.
Always managing time and resources as best he could, he realized that it was an important next step to demolish walls and pour concrete floors on the main level of our home. Even though, Michiel, Florence and I have been looking forward to moving into our rooms, we are satisfied with completing the two bedrooms at a later time.
As there were still openings upstairs in the newly built dormers, and the wet season had started, I helped Michiel hoist the large, elongated beige trimmed windows into the openings. All three windows have been installed, officially closing the gap and keeping the elements from entering our room. Another milestone reached! We are so pleased to see the new face of our bedroom dormer.
We can only imagine the end result, when our entire house is complete!
My Baking Routine
I love fresh baked bread, especially in the morning. My usual routine is to start the sourdough bread process the day before, then leaving it in the fridge overnight to ferment for roughly twelve hours or more, and baking bread the following morning.
It was a groggy morning after the long haul of a night. However, I did stay the course. I scored my bread and slid them in the oven to bake. We don’t often buy bread anymore, and anything sourdough is a staple in our home.
About twenty-five minutes into baking, I realized that our propane tank hooked to the stove ran empty. Michiel had come home and helped hook the new full tank to the stove, so I could continue baking.
Feeling Under the Weather
Today was a solemn day, the ray of sunshine in our family faintly shone her light. We had a rough overnight episode of Florence hanging her head over a large bowl while having horrible stomach pains — she was unable to hold water or food down. The last almost twenty four hours have been vague in her memory. She begged to drink water to quench her thirst, yet dreaded the feeling of having to vomit soon afterward.
At long last, she took only small sips of water, and set the alarm to maintain a consistent gap between each drink. However, no amount of substance would allow itself to remain in her tiny stomach. The pain would precede the volatile projection. It was agonizing for a mother to watch. The poor child had been through much!
Battery Banks Fully Charged
We have been excited over our battery banks being fully charged by noon time these past sunny mornings. The weather app on our phone previews what to expect in the coming days — so, we plan our laundry washing days accordingly.
Drastic changes have been made to our house during the last two months. The end of this month will mark our second year moving into this house! Michiel has pushed hard to advance the renovation projects to completion. It can seem like an unsurmountable goal to have the entire house finished by the end of this year. But, we are hopeful and step-by-step we are getting to the finish line.
Please continue to pray for our house progress. We appreciate your encouragement and prayers, as always.
Good night and sweet dreams, dear friends and family!
